“Zero-Dollar Zero Waste Starter Kit:” Part 1 – Reusable Bag

First of all, happy first week of Plastic Free July!! I hope you all are joining me in this challenge! Remember, it isn’t about perfection, it is about making change.

One of the simplest and most important changes you can make to help our environment is to stop using plastic bags. On average, throughout the world, one million plastic bags are used PER MINUTE. To make matters worse, it is approximated that only 1% of those bags are recycled. The rest of them go to our landfills or get swept away into our oceans. When they do finally break down, they will leave a legacy of microplastics that poison our planet. A lot of people have reusable bags or they have other bags that could be repurposed for shopping trips. If you do not, or if you do not have enough, there is a super simple DIY that will repurpose old T-shirts into reusable bags- NO SEWING REQUIRED!!! All you need is a shirt and some scissors.

1. Find an adult sized T-Shirt that you no longer wear.

Then get said shirt inspected by your supervisor 😂

2. Cut off the sleeves.

4. Cut out the neckline to create the opening of the bag.

5. At the bottom of the shirt, make an approximately 2 inch cut on each side.

6. Holding the front and back of the shirt together, cut 2 inch strips along the bottom edge of your shirt.

7. Turn your shirt inside out and tie the front and back strips together.

8. Once all of your strips are tied, turn the shirt back the right way and Ta-Da!! You have a reusable bag!!

This bag will have small holes at the bottom, so it will not do for small bulk bin items, but for regular shopping trips, it will work just fine! ( P.S. Don’t toss those scraps! We can cut them up to make T-shirt yarn for more projects!)

I love this DIY because it perfectly uses our second R, reuse! You are well on your way to reducing your plastic consumption! Way to go! Good for you!!